ADHD / ADD Support Group

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention deficit disorder (ADD) are more common than you might think. It is a syndrome that exhibits symptoms such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, mood shifts, poor impulse control, and distractibility. Join others who suffer from these conditions and share your experiences.

Where do I start... First time posting

Where do I start, I mean that literally and figuratively. Hopefully I am posting this properly for the group to see.

My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD this past June. In some ways I am relieved, but in other ways I am still dealing with the realization of the diagnosis and the medication she has been put on which does not seem to be working.

After my dauther had a meltdown in the doctor's office yesterday and the obeservations about her behavior, the doctor has increased her dosage of meds. Not sure how I really feel about this either, I do know that she is still extremely hyper.

The doctor also recommened that she see a counselor for the behavioral problems and "emotional breakdowns" she is having.

I feel a bit stressed by it all as I am a single mom who works full-time trying to deal with it all.

Hugs to you! It's definitely particularly hard at the beginning, trying to get your mind around the diagnosis and what to do.

It can take a lot of trial and error to get the medication right. It's worth it, though. If the increased dosage doesn't work, your doctor should recommend another medication. Every child is difference. Some do well in the Ritalin family of meds, some do well in the Adderall family and others do great on non-stimulants.

Combining medication with therapy has the best results of any ADHD treatment plan. Our son also goes to a behavioral therapist. Having access to the therapist has been essential to our sanity. When things aren't going well or the medication is inactive, we can turn to the therapist for advice on managing our son. Terrific resource.

As you get started, consider subscribing to ADDitude magazine and joining CHADD. Both are super resources and you'll feel less alone. Also check out the book, &quot;Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention.&quot; It's all about one mom's journey to helping her son with ADHD. A great read.

Good luck to you! I hope you find just the right dosage and medication soon. It really can be life-changing!

Hi and thank you so much CAWriterMom. Thanks for the wealth of information and encouragement. All of this is pretty new to me and I had never heard of the groups or the magazine you spoke about so I will check them out. A behavioral therapist's office is supposed to contact me within 24 hours to set up an appointment to evaluate my daughter, it is a bit overwhelming, but your post helps to put me a little more at ease knowing that I am not the only one going throught what I am going through and that my daughter isn't the only child with the issues that she has.

Those are both great resources. With the ADDitude magazine subscription you can get a weekly email from them which always seems to have something helpful. It is definitely hard in the beginning. Find a good friend for yourself to confide in. A local support system is invaluable. My mom dealt with ADD in my brother (although we didn't know it when he was young), so I usually call her to vent when it's been an especially hard day with my son. It has also taken us multiple tries with medication to find the best one with the least side effects. If you feel like you are always tweaking the dosage or time of day that you give it, you are not alone! Please post again to give us an update on how it's going.

Medication can only do part of the job. A good therapist does the other. The most important thing I can tell you as a parent of a 16 year old with ADHD is this... Nobody ever died from a tantrum. I used to get embarrassed, frustrated, worried and went over EVERY choice I made and this is what I found in hind sight. SO WHAT? There are millions of kids with ADHD, ADD, OCD, Autism and so much more. My child is fitting right in. That may sound crazy and I am still going through a lot with my teen but I take a deep breath and say, if I am not his cheerleader, his protector, his rock who is going to be? Yes I will discipline him as necessary, hold my ground when I have to, but try to remember your child will go through a lot of stares, disappointments with her disorder, it can't be cured only managed. The world will label her as it does EVERYONE in some way or another. Your child is perfect in her own way. No one else has her charm, her special gifts, so if she has an outburst it won't last. If you get the head shake or stare smile, otherwise your child is healthy. Parenting a child with ADHD is not easy, but with the right tools, therapy, medication and a great sense of humor your child will manage the hurtles in her life. Good Luck!

As a person with ADD I can tell you what would have made a difference to me as a child. I wish my parents would have been able to talk to me more and let me know things were not my fault.

I know that schedules help me and keep me on track. I don't take medication for my issue and I have my own coping skills (some people need medication). I simply don't want to take a handful of pills. It is a very depressing thing to deal with because everything is disorganized and confusing a lot of times. A number of times when things are changed I have problems with the changes (this is where the schedule helps me). I was not diagnosed as a child but I was diagnosed not too long ago and the only things that help with my &quot;tantrums&quot; so to speak is asking your daughter what is bothering her (I don't know her age). She might open up to you but a professional is usually what is best in this situation if there are severe behavioral problems. I think any child from a home with seperated family is going to have a hard time dealing with it. I think it's important for parents to understand this and hopefully find ways to help their child cope with certain losses.

My opinion is the medication is not working because the problem is more emotional than it is anything else :-) but I'm not a professional. My therapist informed me it would take me 2 to 3 years thearapy to get to a better place.

I am in the same boat as you. My son is 6 and we are going though the same. He is very hyper and did not do well in Kindergarden. He is a great little boy but angers easily and that does not help with friendships. He is a charmer to adults and has excellent verbal skills but he is terribly impulsive and can not focus. Which is causing him to fall terribly behind in school. We started meds in June and what a roller coaster we have been on. One makes him throw up and makes his heart feel like it's coming out of his chest, one makes him terribly angry, one makes him so emotional it's hard to not cry all the time. Ugggggg! Is there a solution out there? My husband and I get no alone time in the evening as Zachary doesn't sleep well, can't go to sleep, won't sleep in his own room, (sleeps in my room in my bed) and if I try to put him in his own room we make at least 4 trips every night back and forth. At that point we just give up, it's very exhausting!!

Telalynn,
Have you tried melatonin yet for the sleep issues? If not, ask your doctor about it. It's over the counter and natural (although this also means unregulated so potency varies a lot between brands). Many kids with ADHD take it to help fall asleep. It's done wonders for our son. He just couldn't calm his body enough to fall asleep on his own until we started the melatonin.

@Monique19, you are at the right place! What you have written has been felt by all of us here. It is so exhausting, but as the other posters have said there is a way to manage things- awesome advice by the way! I too have just became a member of CHADD, and wanted to know if anyone has taken the parent to parent workshop (online)? (I probably will start a new discussion about this). It has very good testimonials.
@Teialynn, you described my son exactly-finding the right med...ughhhh. Same reactions as you described. Every med gave him extreme stomach aches, or made him throw up. He would share that his &quot;heart felt like it was going to come out of his body&quot; sometimes I could see it bounding through his shirt. The anger, the sadness, I have seen it all. This has caused alot of trial and error with medication, and we have found that ritalin (for him) works and he doesn't complain any more of heart bounding and stomach pains. Just keep a journal early on of each med and its results, you will soon see that managing his ADHD can happen but even for the best psychiatrists (and they will agree) finding the right combo is daunting. Hang in there:)

Hi Everyone,
I apologize for not posting in such a long time. Things have been very busy (mentally that is). My daughter is now seeing a behavioral therapist, who comes to visit some week nights, although I prefer Saturdays because our days are already packed with just trying to get to and through work and school. My daughter is also now on medication and I feel guilty about having to give it to her, but on the other hand I do see where it seems to be helping her.

The posts have been wonderful and I thank each of you for the advice as well as testimonies as to what you all have been and are going through.

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